It's no secret that it's much easier to sell during Q4 than any other time of the year.

Q4 is an amazing time of the year for Amazon sellers but there is a steep drop off that occurs once the holidays are over and most gift cards are spent. The severity of the dip is shown pretty clearly in the quarterly sales chart below.

Many sellers become discouraged by the plummeting sales after Q4 and take their foot off the gas. They lose sight of the big picture.

Q1 is not a time to slow down! You should be exerting just as much effort in all other quarters as in Q4.

Think about it...does it make sense to slow down when it's more difficult to make sales? It doesn't make sense to take your foot off the gas now. Now isn't the time to cut employee's hours, cancel subscriptions to paid services or stop spending money on inventory.

So, what can you do during Q1 to ensure that you keep growing your business?

Here are 8 actionable tips to help you ease into the first quarter of 2018 and avoid a Q4 hangover.

1. Reinvest Your Q4 Earnings

Cash is king.

If you leverage it properly, the "extra" money you make in Q4 can be the turning point for your business.

If you reinvest the earnings you made in Q4, you will be in a good place moving forward.

Physical product businesses like selling on Amazon only expand when you reinvest new money into them continually.

Million-dollar sellers get to where they are because they worked hard for capital and reinvested it continually. Million-dollar sellers are able to leverage economies of scale to grow their businesses constantly.

I am talking most about reinvesting in products, but you can also consider investing in...

Without reinvesting exponentially more capital, you will not grow. Period.

Side Note: It is absolutely ok to reward yourself! There is no need to invest 100% of your profits from Q4 back into inventory. Rewarding yourself by taking a vacation, paying off some debts, buying a new computer (whatever) will inspire you to keep growing your business. There is nothing wrong with enjoying the fruits of your labor just as long as you prioritize growth and don't go crazy.

2. Diversify Your Product Sourcing Methods

If you are 100% RA or OA, I highly recommend you use some of the extra capital (and free time) you will have in Q1 to find new sourcing methods like private label and wholesale.

Do you have to do this? No, but I think everyone should at least see what else is out there. You may be better or prefer one over all others and that's fine, but give yourself a chance to understand your options.

3. Expand to an Additional Sales Channels

What!?!? Sell off Amazon? Yes... there is no better time to start to build your off-Amazon business presence than during Q1.

6. Engage with the Seller Community and Build Relationships

Many members have made connections with other sellers that have turned out to be very lucrative. They share tips, offer each other product leads and even invest on larger purchases together that they couldn't afford on their own.

7. Hire a Virtual Assistant

If you haven't already, I highly recommend you consider hiring an overseas virtual assistant to help grow your Amazon business.

Another tool aimed at private label sellers, Helium 10 is a comprehensive suite of tools that help you in a number of ways from protecting your listings to optimizing your keywords for maximum conversions and exposure. Click here to read my full review of Helium 10

BONUS TIP: Start Sourcing for Valentines Day!

Valentine's Day is incredibly lucrative for Amazon sellers IF they are deliberate and source products that buyers would want.

This means...

Candies

Valentine's Day themed gifts

Valentine's Day decorations

Creating bundles for Valentine's Day is particularly lucrative.

You can ease the pain of a slow Q1 with a successful Valentine's Day sourcing plan!

About the author

Nate McCallister

Nate is the founder and main contributor of EntreResource.com. He is a lifestyle entrepreneur who spends his time building businesses and raising his two kids Sawyer and Brooks with his beautiful wife Emily. His main interests include copywriting, economics and piano.